Signs
by yougonnapayforthatmango
Summary: He was the boy that others saw as physically broken, his life full of missed opportunities, but to her, he couldn't have been more perfect. Something untouchable to her otherwise dirty fingers. Was it possible his feelings mimicked her own? Clace. OOC. AU. Rated M for language. Possible one-shot.


**AN: I probably should be getting to a _ton_ of other stories right now, but I had to bring this one to light! I intend for it to be a one shot because a full story means some conflict and I wanted a fluffy one for the time being. A happy ending.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

He could feel thunder crackling above him. By the vibrations, it was a passing storm. Nothing that would make him have to go back inside. However, the young adults around him didn't know this. They gathered up their lunches and cool drinks, touching their faces in search of fallen droplets. Jace stuck his hands into the grass he was sitting on top of, feeling the green ribbons poke through the gaps of his fingers. His eyes rolled up to the trees. To the bird's opening their beaks and letting out chirps he could not hear. He wondered if the nests they had built would ever fall due to the strong winds that would roll through the environment. Though, he wasn't the only one curious about the creatures. Sitting on a bench with a sketch pad in her lap, was _her._

As easily as she caught his inquisitive stare, asking for her name wasn't easy. At least, not for Jace. Maryse had told him to keep to himself. To stay away from other people. She'd been saying that since day one of his living with the Lightwood's. She would ask Alec and Isabelle to watch out for him, make sure he didn't get into fights when they entered school. Jace saw the way they felt obligated to him. It made him feel… helpless. Alone in a world so big. One of the reasons Jace gazed at the girl was because she was so oblivious to him. Of his desire to know more than just _her._

She had her curly hair up in a bun, a pencil between her teeth as she slid the pad of her fingers along the thick paper she was sketching on. Jace watched as she held it up to the foggy sky, most likely comparing her work to the original image. If he could say anything to her, it would be that she should focus on herself. Her _beautiful_ self. Just thinking of her made his hands tear at the grass below him. Creamy skin, flushed cheeks, candy green eyes that made his heart thud from across the landscape, and hair so red that he could spot her anywhere. Not that it was the reason he stared at her. If he could ask anyone, they'd say his feelings for her were of attraction. But girls like _her_ didn't want guys like _him._

Perhaps she was different.

She set her sketch pad down briefly to bite at an apple that was placed next to her, on a napkin that protected it from the dirty bench surface. Sour juice dripped from the corners of her mouth before she wiped it with the skin of her forearm. He found himself smiling at her messiness. Of course, she never smiled back at him. If only she could spot him from across the landscape. What would she do? Would she wave him over. No, that was impossible. Her flipping him off would be a likely scenario. Or… scrambling off the bench and doing her leisure activities elsewhere.

Maryse said that Jace was beautiful. Gorgeous with the face of an angel. All those signed for him to go to the gym when he was frustrated graced him with a strong, lean body. Jace felt that his looks were compensation. Something to soften the blow of his true self. The self that he hated.

The girl gripped the pencil again, sketching out the rest of the scene. Jace was close enough to the tree that she could include him in her masterpiece if she wanted to do such a thing. A warm breeze rolled through the grass and touched his skin. Making the hairs on his neck stand up even taller when he saw a group of boys approaching. _Great,_ he thought silently. Jace recognized the one with dark hair. Even more so, he recognized the boy's fists. It was like all those months ago during orientation when Jace had to introduce himself. Those boys found him after school. Caught him by surprise.

A few stitches later and Jace still hadn't gotten over his bitterness towards them. The stitches, well, those were on the bastard's face. Maryse had put Jace in self defense classes. Something that came in handy when he was on his own in the world without his adoptive siblings to protect him. That didn't stop the group from trying to beat him to a pulp. They got a few punches in, cracked a rib with the point of their shoes, only because he was at a heavy disadvantage. But he got away. There were a few people in Jace's graduate class who weren't as fortunate as him. Who got away with only their lives. Dignity be damned.

When Jace saw that the boys weren't headed his way, he closed his eyes in relief. He felt like a coward. Even though Maryse would say that _those boys_ were cowards for picking on him. They looked like the kind of boys that Isabelle would date. Not Alec. Alec had standards whereas his sister chased after anything with a dick. Human, of course. But she like them dangerous, wild, out of control without any morsel of respect. Jace figured her to be insane. Out of her goddamn mind to go after such monsters. If she knew what he experienced, then she wouldn't think twice about spitting on their pathetic faces.

The relief was short lived when Jace noticed them heading towards _her._ He could feel his ribs throb with the memory of their shoes. Yet, he stood up from his spot, _just in case._ Was she into people like them? Jace had seen her hang around a nerdy looking boy who probably got bullied as much as Jace did when he was in high school. Sometimes his thick glasses would be missing from his defined face, making the blond wonder if someone had cracked them with their fists.

The dark haired boy poked her shoulder, then snatched the sketch from her hands, her face instantly contorting in aggravation. Jace recognized the facial expression from the time when her friend had spilled coffee on the bench - soaking her jeans. Jace would have felt sorry for her, but then she changed into a floral skirt and all was right in his world.

As she reached for her sketch book, the dark haired boy shoved her back, holding it high above his head when she jumped for it. Jace bit on his lower lip as he anticipated her next moves. _Run, run, run,_ he thought towards her. It wasn't like he could shout at her to avoid the explosive conflict. Though, he _would_ if he could. Where was that nerd that hung around her? Where was he to protect her? Jace let out a shaky breath when the boys surrounded her. _Come on, just leave the damn picture!_ He internally groaned when she reached for her drawing again. He _really_ didn't want to get a busted lip. And, of course it had to be the day when everyone went inside because of a storm they thought would hit the campus!

The girl was being shoved by the boy each time she reached for her drawing. The others in the group laughed at her. Jace's nerve gave a final snap when another boy reached for her shoulder, his hand cupping her chin aggressively as he taunted her. _Damnit,_ Jace groaned as he approached the quarrel. They didn't see him, that or their taunting was too loud for them to take notice to his approaching footsteps. Jace figured he should go for the one holding the sketch book first, being that he was the strongest of the small group. He was a good foot taller than Jace, but that didn't matter when Jace roughly grabbed the collar of his shirt and sunk his fist into his face. He didn't have to turn around to see the mouths of the rest of the group stop moving.

 _Face them all,_ Jace thought to himself as he moved backward to take in the rest of the quickly aggravated boys. The girl was in shock, staring at the dark-haired boy holding his broken nose as it gushed thick ribbons of crimson. All at once, they charged him. Their faces morphed by an almost instinctual rage. One of them tried to grab at Jace's arm but he was quick enough and punched at the open fingers - feeling one of them pop under his touch. The girl was shouting something he couldn't hear and Jace didn't want to lose focus to read her words. The boys were as oblivious as he was.

Droplets of rain sliced across Jace's chin. Seeing that the fight was going to end quickly, the group approached him all at once. No mercy. His golden eyes took in their tightened fists and thinned lips. Their furrowed brows and flushed cheeks. This was usually the part in the fight where his ass got kicked. And it was. Jace wasn't able to hear approaching footsteps behind him. All he could feel was a smack against the back of his head, and then he was down. His nose buried in spiky grass that was slick with rain. His chest picked up on the vibrations of the bell announcing that lunch was over for the students. It was probably the _only_ time those boys would leave him on the ground in a fight. Usually, they'd kick at him until he was wheezing.

Jace turned on his back, sucking in humid air when shimmering eyes blocked out the gray sky. At first Jace thought that her cheeks were wet from the rain. But, when his thumb swiped at the moisture the thin stream continued on as if his touch meant nothing. Her breath hit his face as she hiccuped from sobs. After Jace had propped himself on his elbows, she trapped him in a hug that brought the smell of apples and sugar into his nostrils. Her chest rubbed against his as she cried. All he could do for her was stroke her back, no words leaving his mouth in fear that she'd run by the time he spoke a muddled sentence.

The girl pulled back from his and held his chin with a gentle touch. Her lips moved. All he could gather was " … _do that."_ From her sentence. Jace just shook his head at her instead of answering her undetermined sentence. The back of his head was throbbing by the time her fingers journeyed it. His obvious wince made her green eyes widen in fear. _Don't cry,_ he wanted to tell her. At least assure her that it was worse than it felt. By next week Jace was sure he would be fully healed. Well, there might be a bruise; but he'd be fine.

In the corner of his vision did Jace see her sketch book. He gently pushed her back and reached for it. He flipped to a clean page and gripped her dark pencil, realizing that his head injury might be worse than he though when his vision rippled. She waited patiently for him while he scrambled some words on the page that were probably illegible to her eyes. ' _Are you okay?'_ Jace held the paper to her and took in her confused expression. The girl scooted closer to him, her hand skimming through his golden waves, touching the metal piece that was the reason he could never pull off a buzz cut. He felt her fingers twist a knob on the piece and then he was able to hear her rapid breathing and thunder rumbling in the skies above. Jace closed his eyes in shame, setting his writing down and waiting for her to speak words of pity that everyone used on him. _Just say it,_ he wanted to whisper. This was the thing that made most girl leave. That made most _people_ leave.

"Thank you." She said with that voice that was awkwardly loud in order for him to hear her clearly. It surprised Jace when she didn't yell at him for defending her. Making her the girl the deaf kid had to defend. She probably felt guilty, pitying him like every goddamned person he'd ever met. He opened his eyes and saw that her hands were twitching at her sides as if she wanted to touch him. _He wanted to touch her too._ But no one wanted his touch. His broken touch.

When Jace didn't respond to her, she repeated again, louder. " _Thank you."_ She smiled.

"I heard you the first time." Jace replied tersely, watching as she struggled to sift through his deaf accent. The girl's apologetic smile made him realize that she hadn't understood him. He reached for the paper and pencil, writing down ' _You're welcome'_ instead of his first response. She pursed her lips together, sinking her teeth into the lower one as thoughts passed through her bright eyes.

"You're Jace, right?" The girl asked him. He didn't have to wonder how she knew his name. _Everyone knew the deaf kid._ Jace nodded at her question, waiting for her to say _goodbye._ "I'm sorry those boys hurt you." She replied grimly. Jace scribbled down his response on paper.

' _Happened before.'_ He held the paper to her face and watched as it softened. It annoyed him. He didn't write that for her to feel _sorry_ for him! Jace set the paper down and stood tall, reaching his hands down to help her up. The girl took it slowly, her neck moving as she swallowed nervously. Once she was up did she give him a grateful smile. He didn't return it. It was best that he show no emotion for fear that she'd think she was in emotional debt to him.

The girl's faint words touched his ear: " _Do you need to go to the nurse?_ " Jace shook his head at her. Brushing imaginary dirt off on his jeans as he began his steps towards the brick buildings. She might have said something after him, but Jace wasn't up to hearing her continuous stream of apologies for unintentionally causing the wound on his head.

* * *

Clary had her head resting on her hand. Thinking deeply despite the blaring music her roommate was playing. Her brows had remained in a constant state of furrowing after her encounter with Jace. Had she done something _wrong_? She kept replaying the conversation in her head. She couldn't stop wondering if… if maybe he didn't _want_ to keep talking to her. She'd called after him, sure that his hearing aid was on. Perhaps he was upset about having to defend her from that bastard Sebastian. Perhaps he was embarrassed about getting a wound on his head, losing the fight, in front of another person. _This was all her fault._

Damn Sebastian. The only reason she fought so hard for her sketchbook was that she had been drawing Jace, and of course he'd make fun of her and show the sketch to his asshole friends. There were probably… around ten drawings of him in the book. But she couldn't help it! Whenever she'd stare at him, her eyes would be lost in his perfect physique, the way he held his shoulders and sat staring up at the sky, resting his back against the beautiful tree. And when she saw him on the ground after Sebastian had punched him, well, she was unable to stop herself from touching him. From skimming her fingers across his face. Feeling the original masterpiece.

"Okay, tell me what's going wrong in your world." Clary sat up with a startle. Her roommate had turned lowered the volume on her stereo and was now staring at Clary with raised brows. Hands on her hips as if she were interrogating the redhead. Clary didn't know how to respond. Would Maia be upset that she had caused a fight, or angry that she had caused Jace to get hurt? Both were possible outcomes.

"Nothing, Maia." Clary groaned at the other girl. Maia didn't believe her, and tossed a frilly pillow at the redhead.

"Bull. You've been acting strange ever since you came back from lunch… does this have something to do with you being late to class?" Her eyes widened in conclusion, hand over her mouth before she let out a muffled squeal. Clary used the pillow to cover her face. Hide the blush creeping up to darken her cheeks. "Tell me! Tell me _now_ or I'm going to tear it out of you!" She demanded.

"It's nothing! I was…" Dammit, she spoke too soon! Clary pressed her back to the plain dorm wall, letting out a sigh as she set the pillow on her thighs and locked her fingers together. "I messed up." The once curious stare that she received from her roommate was now soft, sensitive as she took a seat next to her on the twin sized bed. There was a pregnant pause before Maia spoke up again.

"You're not knocked up, right?" Clary gasped at what her friend had assumed.

"Maia!" She snapped.

"What? It happens. And if you are, I'll be supportive, unless the baby daddy is someone I warned you about. Than I'm going to give you a good dose of _I told you so."_ Clary had to laugh at Maia's reasoning. The muscles in her back relaxed as she let out another long puff of air. Her cheeks flamed again as she recounted the incident with Jace. The spark that passed between them when she put her hands on him. Did he feel it too? He must've! "Okay, so you're not pregnant." Maia concluded.

"No, I'm not. It's just boy stuff. You know?" Clary said with a tired voice. Maia was still for a moment before nodding her head in agreement. The other girl had her fair share of problems with her boyfriend Jordan. Sometimes she'd come back to the dorm with a bruised forearm, other times it was a red handprint on her cheek. And each time she'd tell Clary that he didn't mean it.

"To be honest, I thought you were gay." Maia admitted. Clary didn't know how to respond to that. "Because you never showed interest in anyway." _Except Jace,_ Clary thought to herself. "And there were _tons_ of people at your feet, but you stayed distant. So I just thought that you'd tell me when you were ready… you sure you're not gay?" Maia asked after reviewing the evidence again.

"I've dipped my feet in the pool already. I think I prefer sunbathing." Clary explained with an eye roll. "And before you ask, _no,_ I got tipsy at a party." She quickly added as Maia opened her mouth to begin another stretch of questioning.

"So who is it?" Maia asked. This annoyed Clary.

"I don't know? Some chick at a party. I got _really_ wasted-" Her friend tossed the frilly pillow at her.

"No! I meant the boy that you're having problems with! Not who you _experimented with._ Though, we'll have to delve into that subject later for you not telling me when it happened." Maia interrupted. "Is he a bad boy? Is that why you're sporting the long face?" She continued. _Jace wasn't really a bad boy._ Yes, he did stay away from the main crowd, but Clary assumed it was because he wasn't really social. That or the… teasing. _Assholes,_ she thought towards the immature people.

"No. He _hates_ me. I got him hurt." She whispered.

"How so?" Maia questioned. Clary looked down at her hands. The ridges that went through her palms, the bracelet that adorned her left wrist. Only a few hours ago was Jace's face being held by them. _His skin was so smooth?_ "What? Did you make fun of his dick size? Guys take that shit seriously." She warned. "Or did you give him something?" Her voice was quieter this time. The redhead was tempted to throw the pillow at her friend for the escalation of her thought process. Going from penis size to sexually transmitted diseases.

"Would you stop assuming the worst?!" Clary exclaimed. "I was out at lunch, sketching when Verlac came and saw what I was drawing. And then-"

"Oh, God! Did you beat up that giant?" Maia gasped.

"Maia! Listen! I _didn't_ beat up Verlac! He took away my sketch book and was teasing me about who I was-" Clary wanted to scream when her friend interrupted her _again._ She realized that Maia got excited. Ever since orientation. But Clary's sentences were starting to sound like bullet points and key words.

" _Who?"_ Maia repeated like an owl. Her eyes thinned, their dark lashes leaving shadows to spike across her caramel colored cheekbones. "As in: you were drawing another being _besides_ bugs and stuff?" She accused.

"Do you know Jace Herondale?" Maia was quiet for a lengthy amount of time, staring up at the ceiling as she gathered her thoughts. Clary knew what was going through the other girl's head. And she felt guilty for doing so.

"The deaf boy-"

"Yes the deaf boy!" It angered her that her roommate's _first_ characterization of Jace was his hearing impairment. Clary didn't _care_ about that. If she were to describe Jace it, it would be his golden locks, his sun-kissed skin, the bronze lashes that extended from his eyelids. Or… the fact that he was the boy that had attempted to save her from Sebastian's cruel teasing. "I had some drawings of him, and Sebastian was making fun of me for that! Jace was trying to protect me… and - and he got _hurt_." Clary whispered. "Now he won't even _look_ at me!" She groaned.

"I think I know why he's acting like that." Maia offered. Clary gave her the silence that allowed her to continue. "Don't you think you might have hurt his ego? Some guys don't want pity when they get hurt. They want to seem brave. Maybe he's worried that you think he's weak now?" She guessed.

"How do I make it better?" Clary begged.

* * *

Jace slung his bag off of his shoulder, groaning when he turned on the lights to his dorm room. Maybe he _should_ get that head wound checked out. Besides the sting in his head was the occasional pang that rang out from his chest. _God, he felt like a baby._ He carefully touched the throbbing bump, wincing when his hand grazed swollen skin. He wondered if it was possible to avoid the girl for the next few weeks.

He kicked kicked his dorm door shut, tearing off his shirt when he did so. There were deep grass stains splattering it. Some pencil marks as well from when he held her sketch book. Jace wanted to burn the fabric, destroy it so that he'd never have to remember getting his ass handed to him in front of the girl he'd been eyeing for… who knows how long! All he cared to do now was crawl under his cheap blankets and never see her pitiful face again. The hope he had that she would see him as _more_ than that boy who can't _hear right,_ was diminished. Ruined. What's worse was that she would try to repay him for getting in that fight with the dark haired boy. Pity was the devil to Jace. Everyone had it in them.

He laid down his bed. Staring up at the ceiling and the bright lights. Alec would be back soon. Probably eager to 'tell' Jace how his date with Magnus had gone. Maybe Jace would pretend he was asleep and his adoptive brother would leave him alone? No such thing. The only people that didn't automatically stare at his hearing aid were his family. And that girl. She could be blind? His thoughts halted when he saw a shadow cross over the ceiling.

When he propped himself up on his elbows, standing in the doorway to his dorm was the last thing he'd suspected to see in the foreseeable future: _her._ Her bottom lip was red from chewing. And her cheeks were flushed, forehead shiny with sweat despite the tank top and shorts she was sporting. Had she been running? Nonsense, no one was _that_ eager to see Jace. But, how did she find his dorm? How did she _access_ his dorm? Her green eyes were frozen on him, while his golden gaze flickered around her disheveled appearance. Pausing on her face when her pink lips began to move.

" _I…"_ Jace tried to keep up with her words, but she would shake her head, turn it away from him, or just nibble on her lips. Along with stuttering, it was _impossible_ to understand her. _She's nervous,_ he concluded. His stare softening on her. Quickly, he moved to turn on his hearing aid, as much as he hated to do so. Doing so proved that he was right about her nervousness. "Please don't be mad at me! I found your brother - actually interrupted his picnic - and asked him for your dorm key…" She began to describe her journey to him. It amused Jace, making the corners of his lips quirk up ever so slightly. And then he realized why she was nervous.

His shirt was _off._

Still, she kept on talking.

"I like you." Jace's eyes widened. Not expecting her to say _that._ His heart did a little thud. "Actually, no. I like you _a lot._ " She admitted with her cheeks flaming brightly. Brighter than the ceiling light. "And I don't want you to be mad at me over what happened at lunch-"

' _Mad?'_ He mouthed at her. She nodded, staring down at her hands. Jace was expecting himself to wake up. Coming the conclusion that he had fallen asleep on his bed and in the deepest, darkest corners of his mind did he want this girl to like him back. Though, that didn't happened. She was still there, in his room. Staring at him with sparkling eyes, ready for him to reject her. He knew that look personally. More than he would have prefered to.

Jace moved towards her, carefully lifting his hand to tilt her chin up. Green eyes meeting his golden ones. Her breath touched his bare chest, making his mind muddled with inappropriate emotions. But, all he wanted to do was be close to her. Seeing the anxiety that filled her gaze, the expectant stare she bore into his skin, he had no choice but to crave her just the same. He wanted to know what it was like to be with someone who was oblivious to what others would describe as a broken person. He wanted so _badly_ to know what that felt like. Not just the blind indifference that his family members gave him. He'd absolutely crumble if she didn't want him the way he wanted her at the moment, for the past years or so of their college education.

Her lips parted, eyelids fluttering closed and Jace found himself doing the same as his hand left her face and his back bended so that he was equally leveled with her face. _She likes him,_ Jace thought to himself as his hands found the small of her back to push her closer to him. _She doesn't care, hearing aid be damned,_ he cheered as she wound her arms around his neck so that she was curved to his body's fitting. Her sweet breath hit his lips as he moved closer, closer, _closer. Now or never,_ he decided, moving his mouth to cover hers. She gasped into his mouth, pulling him tighter to her. It wasn't rushed. Not even passionate. But it was enough to know that she didn't care about the metal in his head, or the difference in his speech. No, the only thing she cared about _now_ more than anything was being with him. Being impossibly close to his pounding heart and matching its rapid beating with her own.

And Jace couldn't have asked for more.

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 **AN: Like it? Hate it? I honestly can't say what made me think of this. Now that I've finished this chapter, I can see potential for more.**

 **Do you guys want this to be a story? Please review and tell me what you think!**


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